Interview with Jaret Ferratusco Founder of Portland's Newest Press: Patient, Folded Hands

Several presses have established themselves in Portland, with a wide variety of genres represented by each.  The newest on the block is Patient, Folded Hands, a small press started by Jaret Ferratusco the “quiet little proprietor of Corpse On Pumpkin Photography.”  Jaret plans to release dark fiction that gets at the “underbelly of civilization,” stories that tell the truth in a way most publishers aren’t willing to.  In doing so he hopes that Patient, Folded Hands will cultivate a readership that gravitates towards these stories, and appreciates that through this press they have a chance to be told.  My guess is that he will be successful in these efforts, and I’m sure after seeing the determination and passion offered in the words below, you will feel the same.

1) For those of us who are uninitiated but nonetheless interested, what’s it take to get a press up an running?

So far as I can tell (I’m new at this, and new responsibilities are still unfolding), one simple thing and two not so simple things to get it started. Desire is the simple one, I suppose, if you can describe it so effortlessly. Desire to do it and wanting to make it work. The bigger ones are money and time, with more emphasis obviously on acquiring the financing but no little amount of time within which to pour yourself into. I’ve wanted to do something like this for a long time, but money was always the biggest obstacle telling me no; this has definitely involved borrowing money and so I still haven’t beaten that. Even before I got somebody to help me out with it, the first step (for me), was finding a printer. I couldn’t have a company unless I could print a lot of books. So once I found one with prices I could afford and a bulk plan that made sense, that’s when I decided to do it, and looked into what it takes to get that book from the printer to the reader. And the internet is so far my best friend in this. Having websites, promoting, networking, gaining interest, making the books easily available through the web. Getting the book into stores will have to be something I’ll experience along the way. I’m hoping that sooner or later I can say exactly what it takes to do that part. I think maybe it might involve standing outside of a bookstore and asking repeatedly every couple of minutes with almost no change in vocal inflection until it becomes a matter of putting the books into their inventory just so I’ll leave. Only I think that might start Patient, Folded Hands off on the wrong foot.

2) Your website says that you plan to be an “outlet for stories and creations which may be considered beneath the fabrics of basic acceptance.” This could include a wide variety of topics, are there certain ones you have in mind?

Yes, it can and does include a variety of topics, but in this particular case, I’m only interested in where those topics are worked into a piece of dark fiction. Which itself has no solid definitive boundaries but can be described loosely as being sad, uncomfortable, emotionally frustrating, disturbing, mean, violent, even supernatural. Human ghost stories, the underbelly of civilization. I admit that overall, in literature, I do like the surprise aspect of dark stories and that I want to be surprised by a book, but I’m not necessarily taken with mysteries per say. I think dark stories can lay everything out on the table without cliffhangers, and when it still surprises you anyway, it’s like a second chance at life and then the next day seems a lot brighter after having finished a good book like that. This is the kind of stuff I like to read and the kind of stuff I’m looking to produce through this press. As a reader I adore it, actually, the vague qualities of that feeling, the unruliness of its worlds and the limitlessness of any range of emotion.

At the start, with even just a few books to its credit, I don’t think there will necessarily be something someone’s “come to expect from the likes of Patient, Folded Hands.” But as the company grows, if it grows, when it grows, I’m hoping there will be that thing readers have come to expect from it. Like when Season Two of ‘The Twilight Zone’ aired and fans considered themselves in the know on what to expect even though the show’s range was certainly all over the board. Something different, something untoward—in those little words you could come to expect almost anything and know they somehow still fit the term in the right way. That’s what I mean by it being an outlet for such and such—in the capacity of dark stories. And that’s what I would like for people to expect from this press.

3) The first release is your novella “I Grew Up In Amaltherey Hill.” What do you feel will draw readers to this book?

As an author, I’m not really sure what will draw people to this book for any one particular reason. It’s a whole lot of things if it’s one because most of them are probably emotional. The kind of stories I write and the kind of characters that live in them are usually incredible losers, or people that just sort of can’t blend in, which by society’s standard is, generally, a loser. They make mistakes and they pay for them hard. Sometimes they don’t make mistakes but they end up paying for it anyway—they can’t figure out what the hell it takes to just blend in and be normal. And there’s a world within a world in a place like that. This book centers around a few weeks in the lives of a few kids who know each other from school, at least one of whom is going through that very feeling. The severity of dissociation is something maybe that’s easy for certain individuals to relate to. Common things in everyday life like love and loss, and loneliness and listlessness, these things can produce disastrously uncommon things in the right/wrong person. But watching it happen to somebody else opens up new avenues of perception. In the context of a story, I think all dark fiction kind of does that. From personal experience I think people are drawn to that. Like I am. I like to escape into stories and get away from today or the thought or yesterday or thoughts of tomorrow and see what it’s like for others and put myself in their shoes for a little bit. I’d like to think this book will be read by those who feel the same way, and that when the story is over, the world outside that we live in for real will be a little less grim. Or if it isn’t, so what? Escapism isn’t about making things better, after all. This story isn’t meant to save anybody’s life and it doesn’t offer a way out, but it’s from the heart.

4) What do you say to those who may claim Patient, Folded Hands is merely a way to get your own book(s) out there?

For starters my work is already out there regardless of this new venture. And it’s hard to see that as much of an issue to pay too much attention to. This question is a little difficult to answer without being very up front and honest, and I don’t want anyone to think of this as a middle finger or something like that because it’s not, but I realistically do not care if there are those who want to gripe about how I choose to run this company when there’s only one book out so far. If we have three or four books released and someone has an issue to address on a title written by me and where it fits in this company, I feel it’s more realistic to cross that bridge when it actually comes up.

So whereas I might not really have anything to say to this I do have something to say for this company and my interest in doing it. My first book came out last year on a small press publisher from the East Coast and I took it to nine different states traveling from one corner of the country to the other, doing readings, trying to get it into stores, advertising myself and that book and whatever else to get it into readers’ hands. I put a lot of my own money into its advertisement, from constant postcarding to stickers to websites, to organizing and promoting readings myself, to paying for print ads in DIY zines that went out and about and then just disappeared. Those are all things a publisher might do for one of their books and I was doing it already for a book published through somebody else. Now, with a new company that I am responsible for building alongside any books I put out, I’m doing it all over again, just more DIY that before.

I want this to be a tight little community of authors, Patient, Folded Hands; for readers to count on; beautifully composed, anxious authors putting out intriguing work for people who want to read awkward, sometimes dispiriting literature, like I do. I’m not looking for a downer and I’m not intending to release downers, but I am looking to get what I want in a book, what I want to read myself on my own time, and I am looking to supply that with this book firm. It’s fun and I’m excited about it. About this and opening the door for other writers that I feel are interesting enough to integrate. It seems like a pretty okay deal to me.

5) What is in store for Patient, Folded Hands? What do you hope to accomplish?

At this point (the first book just came out this month), I can’t say what’s in store for Patient, Folded Hands in the long run on a definite plane; we’re always going to be here, as far as I’m concerned, but it’s going to take me a little bit of time to figure out the right words to say it without the romantic first impressions. I’m counting on perseverance and dedication within the small confines of the company itself (from any authors I sign to those helping me with artwork and so on), and also relying on the general fact that all I ever do with my own time is art; unless I’m in a coma I’m going to be making something today and then making something else tomorrow. So I’m confident that there will be a good future if the future doesn’t choose to bankrupt me. I’m keeping my options open but also making sure I don’t dig any financial holes I can fall into too easily.

So, starting off with just two authors, I think it’s a comfortable first step into a book company. I hope so, anyway. With a readership, time will tell. There are plans for other books and other forms of books already but I have to see where this one goes and how much money it takes to get it there before I promise anything other than mere publishing to another author. The second author in the company, whose name is David Torres, is presently still working on his novel ‘The Last ones Mentioned.’ It’ll be his first book, and I’m pretty sure it’s going to be an uncomfortable read. If when all is said and done it’s anything like the stories I’ve been reading from him since I met him, it’ll be something I might even have to censor a little bit before publication. The way David writes, there’s a certain comical lightness to it at times, I guess you could say, but I don’t think his subject matters are ever quite comical. Thematically he’s really depressing and pretty offensive. So, to the advantage of Patient, Folded Hands, I’m glad I have him. Years ago, David and I talked about starting a company but it never happened. So now I’ve employed him as a writer. I think he’s going to be a very fine organ of Patient, Folded Hands.

And, to answer the last part, what do I hope to accomplish with this company? To make things and paste wings on those things and set them out into the night sky. Generally I don’t really have any goals in life but to do something beautiful if I have a chance to—I’m putting that theory into Patient, Folded Hands too. Naturally it’s anyone’s idea what is or is not considered beautiful, but hopefully with this book company there will be enough of a readership to contain a better portion of those who think it is.

6) How will readers be able to find and buy your books? Have you thought about a subscription model similar to Octopus Books?

There’s a lot of stuff I want to do along this line, involving clubs and rates, but I feel I have to get a couple books out first, to the credit our our potential readers. I legitimately want to tap into a crowd, the crowd I’m already a part of as a reader. I’m looking for something myself—it would be nice to be able to supply a piece of that puzzle while I’m still searching.

For books right now, our titles will always be available through us directly at PatientFoldedHands.com, our Facebook/MySpace pages (links at the official website). They are also available through Amazon.com, and with luck and time, as stated earlier I hope to be able to report a couple links to charming booksellers across the country (or at least Portland, if they’ll have me).

7) Do you have any events planned to mark the release of the book and the launch of the press?

Patient, Folded Hands will be hosting its grand opening party on Saturday, November 14th at Opposable Thumb Gallery + Cafe on SE 34th and Belmont. It’s situated between Laughing Planet Cafe and Saint Cupcake, across the street from Zupan’s Market. At this opening I will be reading from the book (likely in a celebratory – inebriated – state) and selling copies. Also on hand will be some guests of honor: P,FH co-editor Jill Woody and web-program-and-design assistant Alex Boyce, both of whom helped organize ‘I Grew Up In Amaltherey Hill’ into proper form and did it for drinks and food instead of money. For anyone wishing to keep in touch about details, I have a mailing list you can sign up for by writing to me at the website. I love to send out postcards, so if you have a postal address, send me that address.

In late November I will be heading out for a two week tour through some Midwestern/Southern states with bands Unwed Sailor and Native Lights (both from Oklahoma), selling my book on the road and at all the shows, doing readings at select engagements of the tour (which means anywhere I can).